Only Time Will Tell
by Discreet Kitty
Summary: SET BEFORE SEASON 1. Everyone knows that patience isn't one of Alex Russo's virtues. It's hard trying to figure out what crime Jerry committed against Gigi. It sucks that it is taking forever to persuade Justin to accept his desire for her. Will Alex be able to solve both her problems or will her haste hinder her from getting what she wants? Sequel to Only Time Dream.
1. Clocks

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

 **Warning: The story's central romance is between a brother and a sister. I don't condone incest and I don't believe that you are supporting incest by reading this story.**

 **The story is the sequel to Only Time Dream. As much as I highly recommend that you read that one first, you still should be able to read this story without feeling completely out the loop. I added enough context to help you understand what's going on.**

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 _Alex stood still as Justin moved closer to her. She could feel her heart beating against her chest as he moved his face closer to hers. Her face turned bright red the second she felt Justin's hot breath against her cheek._ _She watched this scene so many times but it still made her nervous to hear what Justin was about to say._ _She had this same dream every single night since the first day of eighth grade. The dream was called the Only Time Dream. It was a prophecy dream that all wizards had when they were thirteen years old. For Alex, her dream predicted that she would fall in love with Justin when she was seventeen._

 _Somehow, Alex was aware that she was dreaming. She had the ability to alter the dream if she wanted. She wasn't sure if normal people could consciously alter their dreams. Maybe it was just a wizard thing. The only thing Alex knew was that she didn't want to change the dream._

 _She decided to ask the same question she did every night._

 _"What did you want to tell him?" she asked._

 _She was referring to the conversation Justin had with Professor Crumbs during the Wizards of the Year ceremony. The elder had confronted the boy about his attraction to his sister. Of course, Justin denied his crush on his sister but Alex knew Professor Crumbs didn't believe him. Although this was a dream, Alex knew in her heart that Professor Crumbs already sensed an attraction among the two siblings._

 _"That I love you more than a sister," Justin said. "And every time I see you, I can hear the clock ticking down until it's time for us to be together."_

 _"You're not supposed to say that," Alex said. "You're supposed to say that you want to push me against my bedroom door and kiss me."_

 _"We're beyond that now," Justin said. "You know that."_

 _"What do you mean?" she asked._

 _"We both know it's going to happen," he said. "We just don't know when."_

 _Justin cupped her face for a second before pushing her head hard against the wall._

Alex's eyes popped open when her head hit against her bed's headboard. Her head throbbed as her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. The glare of the alarm clock had created a shadow on her nightstand. Alex glanced at the clock on her bedside table, shaking her head when she realized that it was only midnight. She groaned at the thought of trying to get any more sleep. She would be too busy thinking about the changes in her dream to fall back to sleep. Tomorrow was the first day back to school after winter break. Alex was going to need plenty of energy to outsmart another one of Gigi's schemes.

As she closed her eyes again, she heard the sound of her mother's voice calling her name.

"Get down here now!" she heard Theresa yelled. It sounded like her mother was standing downstairs.

Alex got out of bed as she tried to think of all the schemes she pulled in the last two weeks. Unless the throttle to her head messed up her memory, she didn't do anything wrong since she arrived home from the airport. She did convince Max to drop a fork down Grandma Magdelena's garbage disposal but Max took the blame for that. Besides that, Alex had been good during the family's visit to grandma's house. Alex had promised Theresa that she was going to behave herself for the entire week that they stayed with Theresa's mother. Jerry made Alex swore that she wouldn't use magic while she was visiting Grandma Magdelena. Alex broke her promise to her father several times but Jerry wouldn't have known that since he decided not to go to Grandma Magdelena's house at the last minute. Alex was confident that her mother did not see her use magic at all. Alex knew that her mother didn't have a reason to be angry at her.

Alex wasn't sure why her mother was telling her to come downstairs at midnight. Theresa didn't know that Alex had just woke up. Why would her mother call her when she knew Alex was asleep? The only explanation for this was that something had happened. What would happen at midnight that Theresa needed to address? Alex sniffed the air as she walked towards her door. She didn't smell smoke or gas. There couldn't have been a fire or a gas leak. If there was, Theresa would have dragged Alex out of bed. She wasn't the type of mother that thought about getting to safety first and later consider rescuing her children. It couldn't have been an emergency.

Alex opened her bedroom door and heard the sound of familiar voices from downstairs. The hallway was dimly lit from the lamp in the living room. Her bare feet padded into the hallway, bumping into a half -sleep Max. He stumbled backward, hitting his back against Justin's bedroom door. He slid against the wooden surface, his back resting comfortably against the door. He fell hard onto the cold planks on the floor when Justin's bedroom door swung open. Justin stepped over Max and walked into the hallway.

"What did you do?" Justin asked as if Alex regularly pulled schemes at midnight.

Alex wasn't sure why he was accusing her. He sounded so angry that Alex wondered if she had done something wrong. For the last couple of months, she had been his perfect little sister. When she pulled pranks on him, she made sure the pranks were light and friendly. For example, when she added a few pinches of black pepper into his nasal spray, she decided not to put salt into his eye drops. He shouldn't have a reason to be upset with her.

"Me?" she questioned. "Maybe it was you."

She knew that wasn't a good comeback but her brain was still trying to wake up. She was supposed to be sleep, not wandering around the house. When she noticed that Justin's eyes grew dark, she regretted saying her comment. She hated when Justin was angry at her. She wanted him to be her loving older brother. She wanted to fantasize the corniest, romantic movie moments about him like Justin riding towards her on a black stallion or him leaving a dozen red roses outside her bedroom door. Maybe Justin woke up before his manners did.

"Yes," he responded. "... because I'm the one who always uses magic to get back at people."

Alex rarely used magic to get revenge and Justin knew that. She could tell he was referring to something that she did before winter break. Alex didn't have a reason to use magic to get back at someone. If she did, the only person that annoyed her enough was the slut burger, Kari Landsdorf. Alex forced her sleep deprived brain to remember the last thing she did to the ditsy blond. She smiled when she remembered.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," she said as she raised an eyebrow.

Justin understood exactly what she was referring to. Before the Russo family had jetted off to Grandma Magdelena's house, Kari came over for one last study session. Theresa told Justin to take Kari up to his room so Mrs. Russo could focus on cleaning the entire house before it was time to leave to Grandma's. When Alex found out that Justin had a girl in his room, her heart stopped beating and she promptly went to visit the two high schoolers. Alex remembered gasping when she found the two asleep in Justin's bed. Justin woke up immediately and was shocked that he had fallen asleep while studying. Kari woke up next and shot Alex a wicked smile before excusing herself out the room.

"That didn't give you a reason to conjure up a poisonous dessert," Justin pointed out. "She texted me last night. She was stuck in the bathroom during the entire Hollingsworth's vacation to Hawaii."

Alex didn't use magic to get revenge on the slut burger. She got back at Kari by giving the lactose intolerant blond bread pudding as a Christmas gift. When Alex had watched all the milk that Theresa had put in Jerry's bread pudding, she couldn't resist giving the blond a slice. Justin must have thought that Alex had used magic to make Kari sick. It wasn't Alex fault that Kari didn't know that pudding contained milk.

"How was I suppose to know she was lactose intolerant," Alex asked as she folded her arms.

Justin's eyes widened as a grin appeared on his face. "I never told you that she was! Ah ha! So you're admitting you poison her with milk."

Alex felt like slapping herself for revealing that much information. It was obvious that it was too early or too late for her to be up. Her brain wasn't working the way it should. She wasn't even sure why the three siblings were in the hallway. There was something she was supposed to be doing and now she forgot.

"Justin, Alex, Max!" Theresa yelled. "Get down here now!"

Alex kicked Max's left leg to wake him up. Justin glared at Alex as he helped Max stand up. The three Russo kids walked downstairs and found their parents chatting with Professor Crumbs.

"You're here now," said the cheery old man.

He looked like a burst of fresh energy compared to the sleepy and slightly annoyed middle-aged couple he stood next to.

"Professor Crumbs, "Justin said. "What are you doing -"

"In the middle of the night," Theresa interrupted. She tightened her grip on her long floral pink robe as she blew a strand of her disheveled hair out of her face.

Theresa was standing next to an old, blue wooden clock that was nailed on the wall closest to the sliding glass door. The clock looked like a bird house with a long, triangular roof on the top and a wide rectangular doorway under the clock's face. The stiff black hands of the clock were pointed towards the center of the roof. On the side of the clock, pictures of leaves and birds were etched into the wood. On the bottom, there was a brown wooden stick that was supposed to look like a branch or a bird's perch. There were bold dark blue roman numerals written on the dingy white face of the clock.

Professor Crumbs must have noticed that Alex was staring at the foreign object. He smiled and pointed towards the clock.

"Oooh," Max cooed. "A cuckoo clock. I always wanted one."

"Since when?" Theresa asked.

She wasn't trying to hide her annoyance for Professor Crumbs. Theresa's attitude told Alex that he had shown up and woke her up while she was sleep. It wasn't a surprise that the mortal didn't appreciate a late night lesson from the aging wizard. Alex couldn't think of a time when her mother seemed this angry about magic. Alex knew that Theresa was upset that Professor Crumbs placed a tacky object in her nicely decorated living room.

"This clock has been passed down in my family for generations," Jerry said.

He looked tired but he seemed happy that he was going to share a prize possession with his family. Alex wondered if he knew that Professor Crumbs was coming and forget to mention it to the rest of the family. Jerry was at home by himself for a week. He could have received a message about a late night visit and just didn't mention it when the rest of his family arrived home.

"Every ten years, one of my family members receives the clock," Jerry said. "Last time, my brother got the clock and I had it the time before that."

"What does it do?" Justin asked.

"The clock gives out hints that help us fulfill either the prophecy of Only Time Dream or leads us to do something good for the world," Jerry answered. "Kelbo received a metal at the Wizards of the Year after his prophecy told him to persuade Howard Stein to start his own radio show."

"I haven't had an Only Time Dream," Max whined.

"Well, Justin has-" Jerry started to say until he was interrupted by his daughter.

"And I have, too," Alex proudly announced.

Jerry seemed surprised by Alex's statement but continued talking. "Every time the clock strikes a new hour, Justin and Alex will get a card that tells them to do something. The card looks blank to everyone except the person who the card is for."

"Who's going to give them these messages?" Theresa asked.

"There future selves," Professor Crumbs jumped in. "Do you have any questions?"

"I do," Theresa said. "Why did we have to do this in the middle of the night? And why did you put it in my living room!"

Professor Crumbs gave Theresa a sympathetic look. Alex was sure that he was thinking that it was unfortunate that Theresa was limited by her mortal mind. Alex began to wonder if Theresa couldn't comprehend certain things because she was a mortal.

"It has to be in the living room," he answered.

"And not in the lair?" she questioned.

"Yes," Professor Crumbs said. "And the first card comes at midnight."

Professor Crumbs reached into the doorway of the clock and pulled out a card. Alex could see a glimpse of the thick black letters written on the card.

"It's blank," Justin said.

"No, it's not," Alex responded.

"Then, it's for her," Professor Crumbs said as he handed it to Alex.

Justin glared at Alex as she stuck her tongue out at him. She held up the card and recognized a neater version of her own handwriting. Her signature was at the bottom and along with a few familiar doodles. Alex tried to imagine herself writing this. She knew it was going to be about Justin. She tried to imagine her older self, snuggling up against a hairy faced Justin, writing tips to help the thirteen-year-old Alex convince the fifteen-year-old Justin to accept his feelings for his sister.

 _Dear Alex_ , she read the card inside her head. _First of all, this is so freakin' weird. You think sleeping with your own brother would be weirder. Okay, enough of that. So I'm supposed to tell you something positive that would make things better for me now. Screw that. There some serious messed up shit going on. The first thing you need to do is stop that whore - whatever her slut face name is - from getting with Justin. I think her name is Katy or something like that. She's not who she says she is. Find out what's she hiding by getting into her locker. I can't remember every single damn detail but I know I broke into her locker and found some creepy shit. You'll figure out what to do next. From, Alex at age twenty - three._

The card disappeared in Alex's hand when she finished reading it. She didn't realize that she had a huge smile on her face until her mother pointed it out. Theresa said something to Alex but she was too busy thinking about what she just read. Her twenty-three-year-old self told her to break into Kari's locker to find out what the blond was hiding. That wasn't the thing that made Alex smile. It made Alex happy to think that she and Justin would be together ten years from now. She hoped that it wasn't going to take that long to get with Justin.

Alex didn't have the patience to wait five or ten years to be with Justin. She had waited for four months now and that was enough. After she got her Only Time Dream, it took Alex six weeks to accept the fact that she was attracted to her older brother. During that time, she wasn't comfortable with the idea of dating him or kissing him. Now time has passed and Alex really to feel his arms around her. The only thing she wasn't sure about was dating. She had no idea how that would work out but she was ready to try.

The only thing that was stopping Alex from kissing Justin was Justin. Before Halloween, Alex broke into Justin's computer and discovered that he was seeking help to get over his incestuous desire on a Wizard forum. Alex confronted Justin over it and he admitted that he was attracted to her. He felt guilty and tried to avoid Alex whenever he felt like they were getting too close. Alex always knew when Justin was getting ready to avoid her. She wished that he would just accept his feelings for her. It would make life a lot easier.

"I guess you have a lot to think about," Professor Crumbs said.

Alex stopped thinking about the card in enough time to see the elderly man teleport out of the living room.

"What did it say?" Theresa asked.

"She's not supposed to tell," Jerry said.

Alex wouldn't want to tell her mother what the card said. The only person she wanted to tell was Justin. Alex knew that he wouldn't want her to say anything. He didn't even want her to tell him about her Only Time Dream. When she did tell him that it predicted that they were going to be together,Justin wasn't happy to hear that.

Alex went back to her room and started thinking about all the ways she could break into Kari's locker. As she laid in her bed, she drifted to sleep knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading the second installment of the Only Time Series. Feel free to leave me a review to tell me what you think.**

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 **Q &A Time**

 **Q. What didn't you upload this story sooner?**

A. This series was originally uploaded as a 30 chapter story. In 2013, I took the story down because it had too many flaws. Plus, the incestuous romance didn't sit well with me. When I revamped and republished the story this year, I originally wanted to divide it into two parts. OTD took place in Early Sept 2006 - Late Oct 2006. The next part would have taken place a year later. There were a few chapters that took place in Jan 2007. I decided to expand on those chapters and make it the OTD's sequel.

Long story short. I had a lot to rewrite. A lot of chapters require a lot of editing.

...

 **Q. When does this story take place?**

 **A.** This story is set between January 2, 2007 to Mid- February 2007. There will be pop culture references and mentions of events from that time. If you don't understand one of my references, let me know. I'll try to leave footnotes in this section if I think anything is too obscure for you to understand.

...

 **Q. What happened in between Only Time Dream and Only Time Will Tell?**

 **A.** There wasn't too much progress between Alex and Justin's relationship after the last chapter of Only Time Dream. Although Justin's hostility towards Alex is a sign of small progression. Justin is just trying new techniques to ward of his feelings.

...

 **Q. Will Justin and Alex get together in the story?**

 **A.** I was surprised that no one was upset that I ended OTD the way I did. Only time will tell if Justin and Alex get together. Pun intended. ;)

...


	2. Time Has Come Today

Alex leaned her body against her locker as Nelly Furtado's _Say It Righ_ t blasted from her ear buds. She held her new black 5th generation iPod classic in her hand as she strolled through her playlist. She was glad that her parents had bought her a new iPod for Christmas since the screen on her old 2nd generation iPod Nano was too small. Alex sighed as she tried to find a better song to listen to. She hated that there wasn't any good music coming out this month. The only upcoming albums for January was Madonna's _The Confession Tour_ and American Idol's Runner- Up Katherine McPhee's self-titled debut album. She heard that Fall Out Boy might release a new single soon but that wasn't good enough for her. She needed something now. Alex originally settled for Justin Timberlake's _Sexyback_ but decided to listen to Panic! at the Disco's _I Write Sins Not Tragedies_ instead.

As Alex listened to the chorus, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Alex turned around, half- expecting to see her favorite zany brunette standing behind her. She was greeted by a pearly white smile, a grin so bright that it made the girl's strawberry blond hair look dark. Alex's _favorite_ blond was wearing a sheer white moto jacket with a beige undershirt and a black high-waisted skirt. The blond's hair was curled perfectly around her face.

"What do you want Gertrude?" Alex asked.

Alex didn't have time to deal with the two - faced lying bitch. She was trying to figure out how she would break into Kari's locker. It wasn't like Kari's locker was on Alex's side of the school. Tribeca Prep was a K-12 charter school that had different buildings across the campus for each of the grades. Alex would have to sneak into Tribeca Prep's high school building to find Kari's locker. The confrontation would Gigi wasn't going to help Alex accomplish anything.

"Puh-lease Alex," Gigi began. "Do us a favor and stop listening to your disgusting emo bands. I could hear practically hear Brendon Urie yelling from down the hall."

"You seriously came all the way over here just to insult my taste in music?" Alex questioned.

Gigi couldn't be serious. Ever since Gigi was suspended for spreading a rumor that Alex was bulimic, Gigi's bully tactics had regressed. The blond would do things like knocking Alex's lunch tray over and trying to trip Alex while the brunette was walking down the stairs. Alex would have brushed those attacks off if Gigi wasn't such a mastermind at coming against Alex. The wizard wasn't sure what the blond was plotting next.

"Aww," Gigi responded as her Wannabees ran towards her. "Were you expecting something grander? Did you want me to tell you how awfully immature your bright yellow long- sleeved graphic tee with a cartoon of a skeleton is? Or how sad it is that you're wearing black uggs with black leopard printed leggings. Face it, Russo. It's like your wearing a red target for Joan Rivers."

Alex rolled her eyes at the pettiness of Gigi's comment. Alex couldn't believe that someone this stupid was wasting her time. Alex needed to spend her time trying to find the dirt on Kari that would convince Justin to leave the slut burger alone.

"Someone needs to call the fashion police," said the taller Wannabee.

"Good one," the other Wannabe said. The two Wannabees exchanged a high-five as the bell rang.

"Let's go, girls," Gigi said as she flipped her hair.

When the three blonds left Alex alone, the brunette closed her locker and headed towards the building's entrance. She knew that her parents would be upset when they found out that their daughter was missing her first class of the winter semester. This was the best time to go through Kari's locker since everyone was in class. No one would notice that Alex was using magic to break into the locker. In fact, Alex had a plan to make sure that there wouldn't be any witnesses when she broke into Landsdorf's locker.

She walked behind the building, pulled her wand from her boot. She chanted, "I don't want to be caught by my principal, so turn me completely invisible."

She placed her wand back inside her ugg boot and tugged the wand underneath the bottom of her legging.

Alex felt an electric wave run up her leg, tickle her stomach, and start fizzing against her arms. She watched as the tan skin on her hands turned pale. The skin became translucent and she could see her pale white bones through the skin of her hand. Suddenly, she couldn't see her hands anymore. Her wrist disappeared, then her arms appeared to vanish into thin air. Once the rest of her body became invisible, she walked towards the high school's building on campus.

There was an odd sensation running through her body like a current. She felt numb and she could feel the gushes of winter air penetrate her body. She didn't feel the snow underneath her boots when she trekked across the yard. Her movement felt slow as if she was a drunk staggering through the snow-covered pavement. She felt as if she was hovering above the ground. Her body felt weightless when the wind pushed her forward. It felt like there were heavy ropes hanging from her head and dangling in her face. She could barely hear the beating of her heart.

When she reached Tribeca High's entrance, she was surprised that her body didn't phase through the metal door. She walked into the school and was greeted by the warm air. Her body began to defrost as she walked past several rows of blue lockers. She knew that Kari's locker was near the biology lab since Justin mentioned that he saw Kari at her locker before he went to biology. She knew where Justin's class was located since she had written Justin's biology classroom number on her hand earlier that day. She had raided his backpack during breakfast and found a list of his classes' room numbers in his planner.

 _What a dork_ , Alex thought as the image of Justin's planner popped into her head. It seemed silly to her that Justin would write down his upcoming affairs in a book labeled "planner." He should have labeled his book something else in order to maintain more discretion. Otherwise, he was just begging Alex to use his planner to stalk him.

 _I'm already his crazy, over attached girlfriend,_ she thought as she passed a locker that was decorated with stickers of various cats breeds and a sticker of a glittery backward "K." Alex would bet all the money from Justin's wallet that the locker belonged to Kari Landsdorf. What other high school student would decorate their locker like a preschooler?

 _Maybe Justin would have a sticker of Captain Jim Sher - whatever the hell the cartoon name is - on his locker,_ Alex thought.

She chuckled to herself as she walked up kitty themed locker. She grabbed the combination lock and gave it a hard tug. She had assumed that Kari would be too stupid to lock her locker. Maybe Kari had a brain in that ditzy blond hair of hers.

Alex pulled her wand back out and said," The prophecy of the cuckoo clock, told me I need to pick the lock, so unlatch the thick metal block."

The lock snapped open and Alex opened up the locker. On the inside of the locker's door, there was a mirror with a purple frame and a picture of Kari hugging a gray kitten. Alex was confident that this was the slut burger's locker. Alex placed her wand back inside her boot.

The wizard was glad that she was currently invisible. The amount of damage she was about to do would result in her immediate explosion. No one was going to blame anything on Alex. Her alibi was that she had gone off someone after her confrontation with Gigi left her emotionally unstable. After all, everyone knew that Gigi had created and spread the bulimia rumors about Alex last fall. No one would question Alex's alibi since Gigi's and Alex rivalry was practically as famous as Paris Hilton. Regardless of the alibi, Alex could claim that she was still on her side of the school. She didn't have a legitimate reason to wander the halls of the Tribeca High. Alex was confident that this was her greatest heist.

Alex started piling through the stack of textbooks that sat neatly on the locker's top shelf. She opened each of the books, holding them upside down and shaking them. Alex was an expert on hiding stuff inside of books. She would even hollow them out and place large objects inside of them. She needed to make sure that Kari didn't do the same thing.

Once she was finished looking through the books, she turned her attention to Kari's glittery pink notebooks. Alex knew that was going to be a tedious task but she was doing this for Justin. Her brother needed to know that Alex was right about the slut burger. Honestly, it was more than that. She needed Justin to trust her and stop masking his feelings for her with anger. Justin kept refusing to accept his desire for her and Alex desperately needed him to admit that he wanted to love her more than a sister. His morals were the only thing stopping the two from being together.

Alex sighed as she flipped through the notebooks, glancing at the bottom of the back of the page. She hated having to go the extra mile to make a point. If only there was a spell that could reveal to Alex everything she needed to know. There was the truth spell but Alex didn't want to risk what happened with Gigi. When she used the truth spell to get Gigi to admit that she started the nonvom rumor, Gigi immediately realized that Alex had used the spell on her. This led to the discovery that Gigi was a wizard and that Gigi was getting back at Alex for something awful Jerry did. Gigi's confession made Alex's suspicious of Kari since the two blonds were cousins.

Alex wasn't sure if she could deal with another huge revelation. Once Alex knew that Kari was using Justin for some evil revenge scheme, Alex warned Justin about the slut burger. The warning angered Justin and he started avoiding Alex. Anytime the two interacted together, Justin always seemed angry. Alex's usual snarky response added fuel to Justin's rage and seemed the put more division between the two. Alex knew that if she could prove that Kari was using Justin, then everything would be fine.

As Alex flipped through a three subject spiral notebook, she found a "planner" in the second subject area of the notebook. Alex used the word "planner" loosely because of the discretion that Kari used to hide it. The planner was buried deep inside the notebook with several blank pages in front of it and behind it. The planner was in the form of a list, written extremely small with such a bright pink ink that it made Alex's eyes water. The list was upside down on the backside of the sheet. The dates were spelled out and the times were written in roman numerals. Alex hated how impressed she was with Kari's planner. The blond was smarter than Alex gave her credit for.

Alex skimmed through the list until she spotted the letter "J" written several times for different days. She glanced at the description next to the "J" and knew that Kari was referring to Justin. Some of the days were marked as "J study," which Alex assumed was shorthand for Kari's study sessions with Justin. On some of the days, there was something else written next to it. There was a series of letters and number combinations that Alex didn't understand.

 _What the hell does CapJS1991 mean?_ Alex thought. _Wait a minute. 1991 is the year that Justin was born in. And CapJS sounds a lot like the dumb comic book character that Justin loves. Why would the slut burger write this? Unless it's a code word for something. Of course, it is Alex! What would it be a codeword for? Maybe it's a password? But why would Kari have a - wait a minute - it's Justin's password. It's probably Justin's password to his computer or Hotmail account or Myspace page. Knowing Justin, he probably used the same password for all three._

Alex chuckled to herself for a brief second and then continued to look at the list. There was a doodle at the bottom of one of the pages. Alex didn't think it was important to look at but she stared at the drawing for other reasons. As an artist herself, Alex was admiring the alteration of thin and bold lines. Kari had a steady hand and it looked as if every stroke she made was intentional. The drawing started to look familiar to Alex. It was a picture of a room adorned with gargoyles and other antique objects that looked a little like magical artifacts and symbols. Alex realized that those items were hanging on the wall near an old wooden bookshelf stuffed with heavy looking books. Next to the bookshelf was a desk that had three chairs behind it. Farther away was two couches and a circular coffee table. The coffee table sat on top of a rug that had the image of a sun on it.

Alex started looking back at the list but her attention turned right back to the drawing. Why would Kari draw something in her planner? The girl put so much effort to keep her daily events a secret yet she wasted a large amount of the page to draw on. That didn't make sense. Alex looked at the description near the drawing and noticed that it said "J study." Why would she draw a picture underneath a study session? Alex looked at the picture again and gasped. She felt like slapping herself for no realizing what the drawing was. It was a picture of the Russo family's lair. Kari was using her study session with Justin to snoop through the Russo's house.

 _Wait a second_ , Alex thought as she started looking for the day of Kari's last study session with Justin. It was the study session that Justin had fallen asleep next to Kari in his bed.

Once Alex found the day, she noticed that underneath the "J study" shorthand title was a description that read "Charm T" and "Test A." The half latina had no idea what it meant but it seemed sinister. If "J study" stood for "Justin's study session," then what did the other shorthand words mean. Alex hated that this required so much thinking to solve. She wanted to quit and walk away. She would have if she didn't want to have to wait another month to start her relationship with Justin. She groaned as she forced herself to think.

 _If only there was a spell that gave me the answers I needed,_ Alex thought as another idea came into her head. _What would Justin do? Probably storm off like a little bitch. Ha ha ... Be serious, Alex. Why is it so easy for Justin to be smart? I hate to say_ _this but I need his help. I shouldn't be doing all the work in this relationship. He better get a card from the cuckoo clock telling him to help me. If Justin was here, he'll probably rip out a thea - theasau - a dictionary with the list of synon - those books with a list of the meanings of the same word. I can hear him now saying, 'Alex, everyone knows that charm is a synon' - syni - is a oh forget. Justin's insulting me inside my own head! Ha Justin! I know charm means the same as enchant or spell. That's sounds 'bout right. Wait a second. If Kari used charm to mean cast a spell, then who did she cast a spell on. The only person who name begins with a "T" is my mom but why would Kari ... don't be a Max. It's obvious that the slut burger cast a spell on my mom. But why?_

Alex remembered how weird it was that Theresa allowed Justin take a girl to his room. Alex couldn't believe that the slut burger used magic to literally get in bed with Justin. If Kari charmed Theresa, maybe she used magic to make Justin fall asleep. Why would Kari smile at Alex when she found the two together?

 _Test A_ , Alex thought as she realized that she was the "A" that Kari was referring to. Kari set the whole incident up so Alex could find her brother cuddling with the slut. Why would Kari think that Alex would be shocked or upset if her brother was with a girl? She couldn't have known that Alex had a crush on her brother. Why would -

"Ahhhh!" a familiar scream interrupted Alex from her thoughts."Ghost!"

Alex mentally slapped herself when she realized that the girl was Kari. Alex slowly put Kari's notebook back as Kari screamed loudly. Alex ran through the hall without caring if her footsteps made any noise. She wanted to leave the school immediately. As she pushed open the entrance,students and teachers ran into the hall. Alex could still hear Kari screamed hysterically as she ran until the freezing cold air. She stopped walking when she realized her boots were going to make footprints in the snow. She couldn't stand in the snow for the rest of the day. Her feet felt numb as the snow started to soak through her ugg boots. She walked back into Tribeca Junior High and went straight into the nearest bathroom. She went into an empty stall, pulled her wand out and made herself visible again.


	3. Justin Needs More Time

Alex leaned back in her chair as she listened to Jerry drone on about the ethics of using the invisibility spell. She could have sworn that her father knew that she used the spell the day before by the way he was eyeing her. If Jerry knew that she had used magic to break into someone's locker, he would have told her. He definitely would have grounded her for two weeks if he knew. It had to be an instinct or a sixth sense. It was like Jerry knew that she did something wrong but didn't know what.

Alex sighed as she shifted in her chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Justin furiously writing something down. Alex didn't understand why he always took notes during the Wizard's lesson. This wasn't some school subject that he was going to have to write a nine-page essay on. Not everything Jerry said was important. Justin was just wasting his energy taking notes. Alex wondered if she was the reason why Justin was so preoccupied with taking notes. She was sitting right next to him, leaning closer to him than usual. He could probably smell the strawberry scented shampoo she had washed her hair with earlier that day. He probably heard her jeans slide against the wooden chair when she leaned back.

Alex heard Justin sighed as his pencil's leg broke. Alex watched as he pulled out a pen from his pencil case. Justin must have noticed that Alex was staring at him because he glared at her. The intensity of his stare made her skin shiver. She turned her attention towards the chip in her blue nail polish on her left thumb. She needed to get her mind off of Justin. For the past nine hours, the only image in her head was Justin's face lit by the cracks through the window's shades. She could only see one side of his face since the other side was covered by a shadow. She saw his forehead, the tip of his nose, and broadness of his jaw. The image just kept popping up inside her head since she woke up. Alex had no idea why she kept thinking about this image.

Alex placed her hands flat on the desk and allowed her shoulders to relax. She closed her eyes to try to envision the image clearly. There was something very intimate about the picture. She felt warm inside when she thought about the image. She could smell Justin's aloe soap and hear a subtle pounding in her ear. It was like she was seeing Justin when he was sleeping in his bed while the sun was rising.

"Alex," Jerry said, which made Alex's eyes open. "Pay attention."

Alex groaned and rested her chin on her head. Jerry didn't realize that he was wasting Alex's time. She needed to investigate the reason that Kari had sketched a map of the lair. It had been three days since she broke into Kari's locker and Alex hadn't done anything since. She couldn't depend on her future self to give her the answer since she hadn't received any more clues from her future self. Alex knew that there was only one option she had left. She had to convince Justin to help. That wasn't an easy task. Justin was way too lovey-dovey with the slut burger. He wouldn't believe that Gigi was using her cousin to further her plan against Jerry. Heck, Alex wouldn't have believed that Gigi was really after Jerry if the two-faced lying bitch didn't tell Alex herself.

"Alex!" Jerry shouted, snapping her away from her thoughts. "I really need you and Max to pay attention to what I'm about to say."

Alex groaned as she propped up her chin with her hand. Her father shot her a disapproving look. What did Jerry expect? It wasn't like he was going to explain to her how he wronged Gigi or explain the reason why fate decided to make Justin and Alex soulmates. Unless Jerry was going to answer either of those two questions, the rest of Jerry's lesson was irrelevant to Alex.

"Before we end this lesson - " Jerry started to say until a certain brunette interrupted him.

"Finally," Alex jumped in. "This was talking forever."

Jerry's face became red as he glared at his daughter. The two stared at each other until Max mumbled an "Uh oh." Jerry face returned to its original color and resumed his lesson.

"The Wizard council is currently debating over one of the Wizard's World most ancient and beloved laws," Jerry slowly said as he waited for Alex to interrupt him. When she didn't, Jerry continued by saying, "A lot of wizards believe that incest ..."

Alex's eyes widened the second she heard her father say the "i" word. Her heart stopped beating. She immediately felt the air become still. From the corner of her eye, she could see Justin trembling. For some reason, Alex felt ashamed. Alex always felt that incest was wrong but she rarely thought of her love for Justin as incest. If her feelings for Justin were genuine, was that really considered incestuous? It wasn't like she was molesting him and trying to coerce him to do something he shouldn't. Alex knew that her crush on Justin was forbidden, immoral and taboo. Incest was just a dirty word and Alex refused to think of her desires as incestuous.

"What do _insects_ have to do with anything?" Max asked.

His question caught Alex's attention and she was glad that he was so innocent. She had never thought how Max would feel if Alex and Justin actually started dating. She hoped his naivety would prevent him from finding out about Justin and her. It would be too much pressure on her if she thought that Max was noticing the connection between Justin and Alex. She didn't know why hiding her relationship sounded easier than exposing it. For now, Alex couldn't worry about the future. She just needed to show Justin that it was okay to love her. The fact that they were full-blooded siblings shouldn't be the factor that kept them apart.

"I think you mean _incessssst_ , not _inseccccct_ ," Jerry slowly enunciated in such a way that it made Alex laugh.

From the corner of her eye, it looked like Justin smiled when she started laughing.

"Justin, explain to Max what incest is," Jerry commanded.

Alex didn't have to look at Justin to know that he froze. It was going to be a lot harder to keep their relationship a secret once they got together. Both Alex and Justin were acting way too uncomfortable than they should about discussing the topic of incest. If they kept this behavior up, Jerry was going to become suspicious. If Alex didn't want Max to notice something, she surely wouldn't want her father to start questioning Alex and Justin's relationship. Alex had to do something before Justin said something stupid.

"Y'know, it's when people keep it in the family," Alex said nonchalantly as she turned her body toward's Max. She made sure that she couldn't see her father's face.

"I don't get it," Max said.

"It's when family members like each other and get freaky in the back of a Dodge or a Sudan," Alex said with a chuckle. She could feel the intensity of Jerry's glare from behind her head. "Creepy stuff like that."

"Creepy stuff?" Max asked as Justin groaned.

"Like old grandmas swapping spit with their football playing grandsons or fat dudes getting under the sheets with their baby doll looking daughters," Alex said with a smirk. Her tone made Justin sigh in relief. Alex could tell that Justin was glad that Alex's snarky comments were used as the comment relief of such a dark subject.

"Do you get it, Max?" Jerry asked impatiently.

"Yeah," he answered with a grin. "It's when brothers and sisters go bow chicka wow wow."

Alex laughed at Max's comment and he shot her a friendly smile.

"Good," Jerry said. "There are laws in the Wizard World that allow siblings to marry each other and share the title of the Family Wizard if one of the siblings wins. The only rules that the law states are that the siblings or the first cousins have to be of the opposite sex and they have to be within a three years age range of each other. The relationship cannot be one-sided and both relatives have to agree that they weren't forced to be in the relationship."

Alex had learned in October that incest was legal in the Wizard World when she was looking up the meaning for her incestuous Only Time Dream. She had read that the dream only prophecized near -relation romance for siblings or cousins within three year age range. She had never considered that this was the guidelines that the Wizard council had put in place. Alex was surprised that the council also had to add that parents couldn't force their kids into a relationship. It seemed crazy that parents would do something like that just to make sure that both kids kept their powers. Alex was glad that her love for Justin wasn't forced upon her.

"So _ingests_ are legal for wizards?" Max asked.

"Yes," Jerry said. Alex could tell that Jerry was becoming annoyed by Max's interruptions.

"That's gross," Max commented.

"Well, a lot of wizards feel the same way," Jerry said. "That's why there are groups of wizards fighting to abolish the law and there are groups arguing to protect it. There are some people who feel that the law needed greater restrictions. The battle of this law is a huge problem in the Wizard world."

Alex felt a surge of disappointment. She would be upset if the council forbids the incest rule. That would mean that Justin and she would barely stand a chance of having a life together. Alex knew that Justin wouldn't take the risk of loving her if the law was banned. The last thing Alex needed was another setback in her relationship.

"If the law was overridden it would rapidly decrease the population of wizards and end the marriages of millions of wizards," he went on.

Alex swore she noticed the corners of his mouth raise a little when he was talking. Wait ... was Jerry happy that there were people stopping others from loving each other? It was one thing to be against something but it was an entirely different thing to want to keep people from loving who they wanted to love. The ban would destroy families and ruin the lives of so many people. If Jerry and Theresa were siblings and they were forced to leave each other, that would ruin Alex's life. Overriding the legalization of incestuous marriages would cause more harm than good. The council must be crazy if they could seriously consider breaking up families. Why the hell would the council do that?

"It would also stop families from forcing their kids into incestuous relationships and prevent sexual abuse among family members," Jerry said, unknowingly answering Alex's question.

Alex wasn't sure how she should feel about Jerry's statement. She never imagined that families were actually forcing their kids to ... Alex couldn't even finish that thought. Magic wasn't worth making your kids have sexual relations with each other in order to prove to the legal system that the kids actually love each other. That was beyond sick and insane. Alex could see why people would want to end the law. Did that justify keeping people from getting married or staying married to their siblings or cousins? From Alex's understanding, the council wanted to end the law to prevent the destruction of families by destroying families.

"I had to tell you about this because the council appears to be leaning in favor towards the anti- incest groups," he continued. "After fighting the law for eight straight years, it looks like the court would ban the law! That concludes today's lesson. If you have any questions, please wait until I finish eating my pudding"

Jerry walked out the lair and Max jumped up to follow behind him. The two were probably headed for the kitchen to bond over Theresa's homemade chocolate pudding. That should give Alex some time to talk to Justin without having any unexpected interruptions or eavesdroppers. Alex turned to a pale-face Justin, watching him carefully placing his pen back into his pencil case.

"Don't," Justin warned. He didn't dare to look up at her as he grabbed his notebook off the desk. Alex was taken back by Justin's sternness. She was quiet for a second as she waited for him to say something else. Alex thought he wanted to talk to her since he was picking up his school supplies at such a slow rate. It was like he was trying to find an excuse to say something.

"Just-" Alex started to say.

"Whatever you want to say, just don't," Justin said as he hurried out the room.

Alex sighed as she sunk into her chair. There were no words to describe how Justin's dismissal made her feel. She just sat there, staring down at her wooden table in front of her. She covered her face with her hands and just wanted to stop feeling what she was experiencing. Maybe there were pros to stopping the incest law. If there was a way to avoid feeling this way, she was all for it. She was trapped inside a game that she could never win. It was like Justin would never come around. Alex knew she could handle it if Justin never reciprocated her feelings but could someone weaker be able to go on in the same situation? She could imagine a large number of teenage girls hurting themselves over their brother's rejection. That could be another reason why the law did more harm than good.

It had to be different for wizards living in the Wizards World. If it was legal, then it shouldn't be such a struggle for siblings to love each other. Alex wondered if her family was raised in the Wizard World would Justin and have been together by now. It wouldn't seem wrong to them and it wouldn't be considered taboo. Alex remembered how pleased Jerry was about the banning of the law. He would probably have been against it and made Alex feel too ashamed to even accept her feelings for Justin. The situation would have been worse since Jerry would probably be more vocal about his stance against incest. Alex didn't need more complication in her relationship with Justin.

She sighed at the realization that she shouldn't be sulking over a boy. Sure, Justin was her brother but he was still a boy. Alex made herself get up and walk out of the lair. She walked into the living room and noticed that Justin and Max were passing a card around to each other. From a distance, Alex could see black ink written across the card. The second Justin noticed Alex presence, he held the card out for her.

"No far!" Max yelled. "I haven't gotten one and she already gets two."

"You'll get one," Justin assured.

"Easy for you to say since you received three," Max said.

Alex was surprised to hear Max's statement and waited for Justin to deny it. When he didn't, Alex began to wonder why Justin didn't tell her that he received any notes from the magical cuckoo clock. Was there a reason that he was being so secretive about his cards? Were they about her? Alex felt a little better when she thought about Justin's future self, telling the younger Justin how to win her over. She couldn't focus on that thought for long. The second she looked down at her card, she gasped.

 _Look, I know it has been forever since I made one of these_ , Alex read inside her head. " _Here it goes. I can't remember everything that happened ten years ago. Yeesh, I have a baby to feed and a dragon dog to clean up after. I convinced Justin to help me with my set of clues. There's no rule saying that your brother couldn't help. Anyway, after I broke into Carrie's (is that how you spell it, I can't remember and frankly I don't care to remember) locker, I actually showed up at Gigi's house and hacked into Carrie's computer. I don't know why Gigi had Carrie's computer but that's what Justin and I remember. According to Justin (since he's standing over my shoulder as I write this), Carrie's computer is password coded and the password is the written under the headband she was wearing. You need to go into her AOL e-mail account and find the e-mails between Gigi and Carrie's. That reveals the part that Carrie's plays in Gigi's overall plot against dad. That's all I can say for now. I'll try to send you these more frequently. Write you soon. Alex."_

Alex couldn't hide the smile on her face. She had a baby with Justin in the future. They were going to love each other eventually. Alex couldn't even process the rest of the card. She had been worried if her Only Time Dream was wrong and that they were never going to get together. In the future, the two were so in love that they made a baby together. Alex wasn't the type of girl who dreamed of being pregnant and having a baby. For some reason, the little indication of a child made Alex's heart swoon. Alex's faith was restored and she knew that she wouldn't have to convince Justin to love her. He would realize that he should. If he didn't, his future self would give him the clues that would unite Alex and Justin together forever. She knew that sounded corny but she didn't care. All she knew was that she needed to give Justin a little time.

* * *

 **Q & A Time**

 **Q: It's been two months since you updated this story. Why did you stop working on OTWT?**

 **A: As an English major in college, I have a lot of essays to write. Sometimes my schoolwork takes time away from my fanfics. I'm going to try to finish this story within the next two weeks. I do post both personal and story updates on my profile page. If you're wondering why I'm MIA, just check there or feel free to leave me a PM.**

 **...**

 **Q. How many chapters will OTWT have?**

 **A. 10 - 12 chapters. Why? I originally planned to write twelve chapters and I outlined the story to fit that goal. However, I feel that this story is pretty straightforward and may require fewer chapters.**

 **...**

 **Q. Um... you're leaving out the hot romance scenes between Justin and Alex?**

 **A. You know I like to tease you. ;) On a serious note, this story will have the romance scenes you crave.**

 **...**

 **Q. Doesn't incest cause birth defects?**

 **A. In mortals, yes. I have more explanation about the way incest works in the Wizard World as the series continues. I already have outlined two more stories after this, Only Time Continues and TBA. Keep in mind that this series was originally cramped into one giant story. That's means I have to restructure and add new chapters to my original story.**


	4. Time Is On Her Side

Alex sat at her kitchen table, eating a bowl of chocolate flavored rice crispies. She hoped that Theresa wouldn't notice that she poured chocolate milk into her cereal instead of the fat-free white milk that Theresa had purchased. Her mother's New Years resolution was to start eating healthier and start cooking healthier meals for the family. Alex couldn't wait until her mother gave up on this resolution. If she had to drink another Nutrisoda or eat another one hundred calorie snack, Alex would rather starve. When Theresa came into the kitchen, Alex could feel Theresa's eyes staring at her food.

"Alex, you shouldn't be eating chocolate for breakfast," Theresa said. "Remember what the news has been saying about childhood obesity. Next time eat the oats I bought or have some green tea with ginger and honey."

Alex hated that her mother started watching the news. It was like the news changed her mother's personality. It was already enough that she started watching Dr. Phil. Alex had enough problems and Theresa was just adding more problems to Alex's plate.

"Mija, you know I love you," Theresa said as Max went into the kitchen and grabbed the chocolate rice crispies. "I just want you to be happy. I want the best for you. Max, get the honey oats. That's healthier."

Alex groaned as she wished she could just fast forward through the entire day. It was Friday and Alex was tired of going to school. She needed some time to sit in front of the television and binge watch Flavor of Love or the Simple Life. She wanted to escape the drama of her life by watching either Paris Hilton's reality show or Flavor Flav's bachelor- type dating show. She stared at the television set that was placed on the far side of the room. She could just imagine seeing Paris Hilton telling her friend, Kim, to clean up her mall-sized closet or seeing New York having another one of her infamous outburst. That sounded like quality entertainment.

Reality television wasn't the show that was playing on the television in the living room. As Theresa turned up the volume on the television, the only thing Alex heard was the news anchors. Theresa sat at the table as she mixed a teaspoon of ginger into her "Best Mamacita In The Mundo" coffee mug. Alex regretted telling Max to buy that mug for Theresa as a joke Christmas gift. If Alex knew that "mundo" was Spanish for "world", she would have realized that the phrase on the cup was a compliment. Alex groaned as she heard Jerry and Justin walk into the kitchen. When did breakfast become a "family bonding time"?

"Oh wow," Jerry said as he stared at the television. "Bill Cowher resigned." He turned to Theresa. "He was the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Theresa seemed unphased by Jerry's statement. "Well, he probably deserved it."

"Theresa!" Jerry exclaimed.

"What?" she asked as she squeezed a bear-shaped honey bottle into her mug. "It's not like you were excited yesterday when I told you that Nancy Pelosi became the first female to be elected as Speaker of the House."

Alex tried to finish her cereal as quickly as possible. She could not stand another conversation about sports or politics. All she wanted to do was enjoy her morning cereal. Of course, her attention had to be distracted by the news. The news had to casually mention the "i" word.

"What happens when a mother walks in on her two adult children making love?" a blond female news anchor asked.

Alex felt her spoon fall out of her hand. This wasn't what she needed to hear. The clue she received from her future self the day before had given her more confidence in her struggle to wait for Justin to accept his feelings. Now this was going to make everything worse for the two of them. Alex tried to casually glance at Justin to see his reaction to the news. His back was turned towards her as he filled a mug with hot water from the faucet. Alex knew that the next words the news anchor said would devastate him.

"She calls the police," the anchor continued.

Alex slowly picked her spoon out of her cereal bowl as she thought about how Theresa told Alex that she loved her and wanted her to be happy. Alex wondered if Theresa would call the police if she caught Justin and Alex making out. Alex never considered how her mother would react if she found out how her two eldest felt about each other. From the way Theresa stared disapprovingly at the screen, Alex assumed that she wouldn't be happy about that revelation. Yet, Alex couldn't see her mother calling the police on her. That seemed way too cruel for Theresa to do.

"The half- siblings, Nick Cameron and Danielle Heaney were raised separately," the anchor went on. "Nick was raised in foster care and Danielle was raised by their mother, they met last year, the two were quick to fall in love."

This was starting to make Alex feel a lot worse. From the corner of her eye, she could see her parents shaking their head. If her parents didn't approve of love between two related people that weren't raised together, then how would they feel about Alex and Justin? Some people could understand that the siblings would be attracted to each other if they met the first time as adults. How would someone handle the fact that two full blooded siblings, who were raised together, fell in love with each other?

"The two siblings were sentenced to a year's worth of probation," the news reporter said.

The short thirty-second announcement about this incestuous couple was giving Alex a lot to think about. She always knew incest was illegal but she never thought that someone would have any legal consequences for loving their family member. Danielle and Nick were both adults and their love for each other was mutual. It shouldn't be a crime if two adults wanted to love each. This reminded Alex of yesterday's wizard lesson. The Wizard world must want to be more like the United States and punish people for something as simple as love. Alex hoped that the Wizard council would see how many people would have to be arrested and sentenced if they made incest illegal. Alex knew that the Wizard World wouldn't want to have the majority of the population battling legal issues. She hoped that love would win.

When Alex was finished with her bowl, she heard the familiar cooing of the cuckoo clock. The entire family turned their attention to the clock. Max was the first to jump up and run over to the magical object. He pulled the small blank card out of the clock. He frowned and held up the card to show his siblings.

"Justin," Alex said as Max handed Justin the card.

Alex watched the way Justin raised his eyebrows and noticed how wide his eyes grew. Alex wondered if the card had anything to do with the news announcement about the incestuous couple. He grunted and shoved the card into his pocket. He walked upstairs as Max began asking the clock why he hadn't received a card.

"It has been five days," Theresa mentioned. "Is there a reason why his future self isn't writing him?"

For a split second, Alex wondered if Max wasn't alive in the future. Then, she remembered how her future self had trouble writing her.

"Mom, relax," Alex said. "It's Max. Do you think he's going to send as many cards as Justin would? Heck, he probably doesn't even remember anything ten years ago."

Theresa seemed to calm down after hearing Alex's statement. Max nodded his head as if it made sense.

"It's not like Max has his powers yet," Jerry mentioned. "He's only ten years old."

"Eleven!" Theresa and Max both shouted.

"You expect me to remember the kids' ages without having a cup of coffee," Jerry said as he held his mug of green tea up in disgust. "This needs more honey."

"At this rate, we're going to go through two whole bottles of honey in a week!" Theresa yelled. "Jerry, that's enough."

Alex glanced over at her parents before turning her attention back to the staircase. She stood up and grabbed her book bag off the floor. She walked up the staircase and noticed that Justin's bedroom light was shining through the cracks of his door. She wondered why Justin ran to his bedroom after reading the prophecy card. She was going to have to find out what his card said later. It was time for her to take the subway with her brothers and go to Alex's favorite hell hole, Tribeca Prep.

When Alex arrived at school, a certain brunette was standing by her locker. It was Harper and she was wearing an oversized blue knitted sweater with plastic blueberries sworn on the sweater's collar. Alex recognized the sweater and it was the one that Grandma Magdelena had made her for Christmas. Alex had given the sweater to Harper when she had arrived home from visiting grandma. Harper, who was aware that the sweater was re-gifted, was ecstatic that she was able to receive another sweater from Alex's grandma. Alex had previously given Harper all the hand-made sweater her grandmother made. The half - latino didn't see a reason to keep the "Christmas gift sweater" if she already gave her friend all the other sweaters.

Alex opened her locker as Harper flashed Alex a huge smile. Alex had no idea why Harper was acting so happy. It wasn't like Finkle was excited for the premiere of I _Love New York_. Harper didn't like watching Tiffany Pollard. Alex couldn't understand why Harper didn't love the overdramatic and full of Brooklyn style sass New York native. Alex studied her friend and hoped that Harper wasn't actually excited about the awful neon shade of blue sweater. The color of the top made Alex's eyes water.

"Didn't you hear?" Harper asked.

"Hear Gwen Stefani's _The Sweet Escape_?" Alex guessed. "I just bought the album yesterday. I have to admit I liked Fergie's _The Dutchess_ better."

Alex had used the remainder of her Christmas money to buy Gwen Stefani's newest album. She would have bought the album earlier but Alex's family had traveled to see Grandma Magdelena when the album first came out. Alex hated that she bought the album almost three weeks after it came out. She had loved Gwen Stefani's last album and didn't want to be out the loop with all the kids at school. Unfortunately, the album wasn't that great. Alex couldn't help but compare the flop to Fergie's solo album. Alex didn't think she would even like Fergie's album but she did. Of course, this had to be what Harper was excited about. Right? She had sent Harper an IM when she downloaded the album. Harper was usually very excited when their favorite artists made new albums.

"That's not what I was talking about," Harper said. "Besides, I liked Nelly Furtado's _Loose_ better than _The Dutchess_."

"Puh- lease Harper," Alex scoffed. "London Bridges is ten times better than Do It and Fergalicious kicks Maneater's ass."

"Watch the language," Harper warned. "I don't understand why you think the Sweet Escape song is worse than Glamorous?"

"I don't," Alex explained. "It just that the Sweet Escape was the only good track on Stefani's whole album." Harper nodded. "What did you want to tell me?"

Alex knew that she had distracted Harper and Alex had a feeling that she wasn't going to like what Harper said next. The wizard had enough disappointment this morning from learning that a couple was on probation just because they shared some DNA. The last thing Alex needed was bad news. She crossed her fingers and hoped that the bubbly brunette in front of her was going to say something like _Simple Life_ was renewed for another season or that Lindsay Lohan was going to get her own reality series.

"Oh," Harper exclaimed. "Gigi's throwing a sleepover for the first episode of the new season of American Idol."

Alex's eyes widened at Harper. Was she seriously happy that the two-faced lying bitch was having a sleep over? The last person Alex wanted to hear about was Gertrude Hollingsworth. It was already enough that she was going have to figure out how to break into her house and hack into her cousin's e-mail account. All Alex wanted was to get away from everyone and snuggle up with her favorite reality television shows. No, fate wanted Alex to be miserable by taunting everything she hated in front of her face. What did Alex do to deserve this? She knew karma was a bitch but she didn't do anything bad ... yet.

"Why would _we_ care about Gigi?" Alex asked

Her emphasis on the "we" made Harper's smile disappear. It was like Harper had to remember that they were supposed to hate Gigi. Wait, was karma angry at her for hating Gigi. If that was true, then karma needed a reality check. It was Gigi that was torturing Alex for something that she didn't even do. The person that deserved to feel the wrath of fate was the two-faced lying bitch. If Regina George was hit by a bus for bullying the whole school, then Gigi a least deserved to fall down a flight of stairs. It was only fair.

"Well, I was thinking that this could be the perfect opportunity to make amends before we start high school," Harper said.

"Eww," Alex responded. "Where's my burn book when I need it?"

"C'mon, Alex," Harper coaxed. "Wouldn't you like to have a fresh start. Aren't you tired of fighting with Gigi?"

"No," Alex said. "I'll stop once I pour a bucket of pig's blood on her while she's accepting her prom queen crown. Why do you think she'll invite us?"

"Well, I overheard her telling Nelly that she was thinking about inviting us," Harper said.

Was Gigi actually going to invite Alex to her McMansion? If she did, then Alex would be able to hack into Kari's computer and find out exactly what the two blond cousins were planning. This was going to be easier than she thought. It had to be some type of catch. Gigi never included Alex and Harper in anything unless the bitch had something evil planned. Alex knew that she could handle anything her rival did to her. If having a fight with Gigi would help further Alex's plan to convince Justin to stop crushing on Kari, then it was worth it. Now there was only one thing left that was bothering Alex.

"Ugh, why does she think that Positive Nelly is our friend," Alex groaned.

"She kind of is," Harper pointed out.

"She's more like a shadow or a pet," Alex said as she chuckled at Harper's shocked expression. "Well, she's always sitting next to us."

When the bell rang, Alex closed her locker and hoped that when she turned around that she wouldn't see Gigi. She slowly turned around and caught a glimpse of her blond hair entering the classroom down the hall with her two wannabees trailing after her. Alex had no problem having a Regina George battle of snarky comments or a Tiffany Pollard type of screaming fight with Gigi. She just could not muster up the energy to engage in the classic Russo verses Hollingsworth war. Alex felt like she repeated her wish so many times of how much she wanted to relax. The only thing she wanted to do was spend the day with her best friend.

"Too bad I can't come over today," Harper said as the two walked to their pre-algebra class.

"Why?" Alex asked.

The two always spent their Friday nights huddled up on the Russo family's orange sofa, watching the Real World and eating bags of chips. This had to be a bad day for Alex. She could already hear Daniel Powter's hit song playing in her head. She had to stop listening to that song because the song must be influencing more bad days than good ones. Karma was taking one of Alex's favorite songs and using it for evil. Maybe Alex was the Regina George and Gigi was actually Cady Heron because karma was definitely making Alex its bitch today.

"It's because of Kari," Harper whispered.

"What 'bout the slut burger?" Alex questioned.

Alex didn't need another reason to hate Kari. First, the bubblegum whore took her brother and now the bimbo was chasing her best friend away. How was Alex going to handle any of this?

"She usually comes over on Friday after school to study with Justin," Harper said. "She usually stops by the salon first to have her nails done. Then, she likes to spritz on her new perfume before walking into the substation."

"How do you know that?" Alex asked.

She stopped walking and stood near the door frame of the classroom. She gave Harper a puzzled look. If Harper was correct, then today was the perfect day to steal Kari's headband to find the password for her computer. Maybe things were going better than Alex thought. It was like fate was leading her in the right direction. She felt stupid to think that fate was screwing her over. Karma was on the side of the person who was battling for true love. Alex's intentions were pure and she was doing this all for Justin (and a little for herself). All she had to do was wait and everything was going to fall into place. Sometimes she didn't know why she so worried that Justin would never be hers. Love was making her believe crazy things.

"W-what, I just - I mean - okay, I have a crush on Justin and I'm just making sure nothing happens to him," Harper said a little too loud.

Once again, Alex didn't realize how much her relationship with Justin was going to affect the people closest to her. For a while, a part of Alex wanted to tell Harper about her feelings for Justin. Yet, she knew that she couldn't yet. Alex was beginning to realize that everything was going to fall in place with time. It was like time was Alex's biggest friend and worse enemy. Maybe one day, she'll have time completely on her side.


	5. Time To Return The Favor

When Alex walked into the substation, she spotted Kari leaning at the counter with a bright orange notebook in her hand. Alex would have glared at Kari if she wasn't wearing a white headband. The wizard felt confident that this had to be the headband with her password written on its underside. Alex was beginning to get tired of trying to find proof to get Justin to stop liking Kari. It was unfair that she had to spend all of her time trying to win the boy over. Why did she have to put all the work into this relationship? It was starting to feel like too big of a task for her. Maybe that's why she was hoping that the headband the slut burger was wearing had the password to Kari's computer. It wouldn't take any energy out of Alex to retrieve the password when everything she needed was right in front of her. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long for Alex to resolve the entire situation.

Alex's worries only increased when she noticed that Kari was wearing a blue jean skirt that barely covered her ass. Her legs looked so long that Alex would have sworn that she was at least five feet and eight inches tall. Of course, the blond was only a couple of inches shorter than that. It was just that her skirt showed off almost the entirety of her slender legs. Those thin little legs of hers were so white compared to her usual tan complexion. Alex noticed that she was shivering by the way she rubbed her legs together. The blond's red heels made a tiny clanking sound as she pressed her legs against each other.

Alex's eyes couldn't help but travel up as she noticed how thin her white tank top was. The strands of the top appeared to be made of something cheap like bracelets strands from a little girl's friendship bracelet making kits. If Kari spilled something on her shirt, Alex bet that the liquid would make the tank appear see-through. If someone was angry at the blond, they could easily rip the shirt from her tiny little frame. From a distance, Alex could see a faint red colored underneath the straps of the tank. When Kari turned sideways to point to something on the menu, Alex caught a glimpse of a bright red lacy bra. The wizard wasn't trying to gawk at the bimbo, but Alex could literally see the intricate details of the crimson fabric through Kari's top. It didn't help that the top of the bra had poked out of the v-neck of the shirt. Kari was definitely going all out to seduce Justin.

Alex walked toward's the back of the substation and sat down at a table near the corner of the room. The Latino watched as Theresa stood at the cash register, talking to the slutty high school student. Alex noticed that Kari had sat her notebook on the counter and began wrapping her arms around herself. While the wizard spied on the slut burger, she unzipped her coat and wiggled her arms free from the heavy outerwear. Alex glanced around the room and realized that she didn't see a stray coat lying around. Where was Kari's coat? Kari couldn't have walked through the busy street of Waverly Place in high heels and barely any clothes. Alex doubted that someone had dropped her off directly in front of the substation since it was illegal for vehicles to drive through the commercial side of Waverly. Kari must have arrived earlier and left her coat in the coat closet upstairs.

As Theresa handed Kari a soda, Alex wondered if Kari had changed her clothes when she arrived at the Russo residence. It was too cold outside for Kari to walk around with bare legs in January. If Kari came over in a heavy coat, thick pants, and furry boots, then Theresa had to noticed that Kari changed into a more revealing outfit. It was unlikely that Theresa would allow Justin to be alone in upstairs with a girl dressed like that. Kari had to use a spell to make Theresa ignore the lack of clothing of the wannabe seductress in front of her. Alex glared as the blond pulled a green bill from her bra, letting it fall to the floor before handing it to Theresa. Alex's mouth hung open when the blond bent down, exposing a matching pair of red lacy underwear. She kept her legs as straight as possible, stretching her arms down to pick up the dollar. It was like she was trying to touch her toes. Her skirt raised up slightly, showing off her entire ass. Once she picked up her dollar, she stood back up and adjusted her skirt. She handed Theresa the bill and started bouncing towards the staircase.

Alex immediately ran over to her mother, pleading with her eyes that her mother would understand the severity of the situation. Theresa's eyes widened when she noticed how fast Alex ran towards her.

"What's wrong?" Theresa asked.

"Mom, you can't let Justin continue tutoring Kari," Alex answered. "Did you notice what she was wearing? It's like she trying to seduce Justin or something."

"Look, Alex," Theresa said in her usual motherly condescending voice. "Girls dress a certain way when they feel bad about themselves. Before I went to an all-boys academy, the girls at my middle school would wear all sorts of things. That's because they wanted someone to make them feel beautiful. When it comes to Kari, she's as smart as a goldfish. Her pretty face is all she has. It's not like she has anything to show. Justin knows how to behave himself. They'll be fine."

Alex was about to protest when she noticed that Kari left her notebook on the counter. She grabbed the notebook and walked into the back of the substation's kitchen to read it. Alex didn't remember seeing a plain hardcover notebook inside Kari's locker. Maybe this was a book that she used when she was receiving tutoring lessons. She opened the book and immediately recognized the same neat penmanship from the writing in the notebooks that were in Kari's locker. Just as Alex's expected, the writings were written in Kari's coded shorthand style. Alex flipped through the book and noticed that only the first ten pages of the book were written on. Alex sighed in relief when she noticed that all of the pages had a date written at the bottom of the left-hand corner. If the dates were correct, then Kari began writing in the book on January 3. That would explain why Alex didn't see the notebook in Kari's locker. Alex had searched the locker on Tuesday, January 2.

Alex sighed as she attempted to read what Kari wrote. This was a lot of work and Alex didn't have the patience for it. She glanced at the first page for a few seconds before turning to the last page. She slammed the book shut and threw it on the floor. She kicked the book and it slid across the tile until it slid underneath the refrigerator. Alex was done trying to decode Kari's secret. That was too much work. All she needed was to find the password to Kari's computer. She decided that it was time to get everything over with and go upstairs. She left the kitchen and walked over to the staircase.

As she ascended up the steps, she hoped that the bimbo was not in Justin's bedroom. Alex could picture Kari straddling her brother as her wicked lips pressed against Justin's skin. Alex could feel heat envelop in her chest as she thought about the way that Kari might push her dirty little tongue down Justin's throat. The brunette started to feel dizzy just thinking about seeing the blond's perfectly manicure hand sliding down Justin's abs. Kari deserved all the hatred in the world.

Once Alex walked into the living room, the corners of her lips curled into a scorn. The bitch was lounging on the sofa with her slender legs lying across Justin's lap. She was holding the same notebook in her hand as she listened to Justin talk. If this was Justin's idea of a tutor section, then Alex would have signed up for it months ago. Alex felt like running over to Kari, grabbing a handful of blond strands and pulling her off the couch by her hair. The second Alex thought about it, she noticed that Kari's hair was a mess. She was no longer wearing the headband. This was Alex's opportunity to find the band and write down the password to Kari's computer.

Alex glanced around the room for the headband as she eavesdropped on Kari's and Justin's conversation. It was obvious that they didn't notice that she was in the same room as them. This was the perfect chance for Alex to know exactly how these study sessions went.

"My parents left me at my Aunt's house while they're protesting," Alex overheard Kari say. "They have been gone a really long time."

Alex groaned at the sound of the slut's voice. She didn't understand why girls thought it was alluring to sound like an airheaded baby. Alex could blame that on Paris Hilton. Regardless, Kari was so irritating to listen to that Alex didn't know what Justin saw in her. Why would Justin want an annoying bimbo like Kari when he could have Alex? That question made Alex consider if Justin was worth fighting for. Alex knew that Justin was using Kari as a way to avoid his feelings for Alex. It was baffling that Justin thought a girl like Kari could help.

"Wow," Justin exclaimed. "How long will they be gone?"

"Um...the thing is like about a huge law," Kari tried to explain. "They might never come back."

Alex froze when she heard what Kari told Justin. Did the two usually talk about personal issues like this? She sounded so sad and sincere that Alex wondered if that was true. This sounded like the beginning of an intimate and pretty intense conversation. Was that why Justin liked Kari? She was someone he could talk to. On a side note, Alex now knew why Kari's computer was at Gigi's house. Of course, she would bring her computer with her if she was going to be staying with her cousin for a while. Still, learning the reason that Justin liked Kari triumphed learning the reason why Gigi had Kari's computer.

"Do you know what's the law about?" Justin asked.

Alex wondered if someone lied to Kari about her parents' whereabouts. It sounded like they were dead. Could Kari's parents' absence be the reason that she dressed and acted like a slut? She was just another pathetic attention seeker that felt lonely and unloved. For some reason, that revelation made Alex loose respect for Kari. Alex liked thinking of Kari as a hypersexual female who was in control of her sexuality and just liked to flaunt herself around for the hell of it. This also made Alex question Kari's involvement in Gigi's scheme. Was Kari a co-planner in Gigi's scheme against Jerry or was she actually an airhead that allowed Gigi to boss her around? Alex thought Kari was just pretending to be an idiot but what if she really was. If she was actually stupid, how could she write such sophisticated shorthands or how could she keep track of all her affairs in such a secretive matter? If Kari didn't do this, then who did?

"Ending marriages or something," Kari answered.

"You mean like a divorce?" Justin asked.

Alex hoped that Kari was just acting stupid because it would be really sad if she was that dumb. It wasn't like the word "divorce" was such a hard word the remember. Nevertheless, Alex believed that Kari was telling the truth. It would explain why she was living with Gigi and why she was allowed to be so promiscuous. Although Alex knew that Kari was in a vulnerable place in her life, Alex wondered how she could exploit this information. Maybe it wouldn't be too hard to get her to back off of Justin. All the wizard had to do was threaten to reveal the secret at school. Then, Justin wouldn't have to be bothered by the bimbo.

"Hey, that's sounds like the word mom used before she went away!" Kari cheered.

Alex scoffed at both Kari's remarks and cheerfulness. This noise made the cuddling high schoolers look across the room at Alex. The latino stared at the two before starting to walk towards the kitchen. Alex stopped walking when she heard Kari yell a random name at her.

"Lexi!" Kari called in her usually whiny tone. Justin started to say something but then he stopped himself.

"It's Alex," the wizard corrected.

Kari's eyes widened for a second before she croaked out a small chuckle. She twirled her hair around her index finger for a few second before sliding her legs off of Justin. She stood up and started walking slowly towards Alex. The blond padded barefoot across the room and the thin straps of her shirt slid off her pale shoulders. Alex immediately noticed that the white headband was on the same spot Kari had sat on the couch. The headband must have slid off her hair when she ... Alex didn't want to think of what Kari was doing to Justin on the couch for her headband to fall and for her hair to become so wild.

"Gigi wants you and Hannah to come over for a slumber party!" she cheered. "Not this Monday but the next."

"Who's Hannah?" Alex asked as she folded her hands across her chest. She was starting to feel cold just by she looking at the scantily clad blond in front of her. Why didn't Justin ask her to cover herself up some? Did he like seeing her body? Of course, he had to if he let her place her legs in his lap! Why would Justin allow this slut to do this? Alex was going to have to get to the bottom of this.

"The girl with the funny clothes," Kari laughed. "What was I saying? Oh, yeah. My cousin really wants you to come over."

"Seriously?" Alex asked. She tried her best to look casual as she walked over to the couch. She slowly sat down on the sofa and grabbed the headband. She wasn't about to waste the opportunity to get the slut's password.

"I'm like hella serious!" Kari explained.

"Count me and Harper in," Alex said as she tugged the headband into the band of her jeans. She scooted closer to Justin when Kari joined the siblings on the couch. Justin shot Alex a glare and pleaded with his eyes that she'll leave.

"Kari and I have a lot of work to do so if you could just -" Justin said before Alex interrupted him.

There was no way in hell that Justin was going to kick out Alex. She would not tolerate him choosing to spend time with the slut burger over her. She was going to force him to see that she was worth spending time with. Even if she was going to have to think of something to get his attention. Alex needed to remind Justin that he cared about his sister. She wasn't going to let him run away from his feelings anymore. Alex put too much energy and effect into this relationship. It was time for him to return the favor.

"Kari, you should probably go," Alex said. "It's getting dark."

"You're right," Kari said. "I'm going to change my clothes first."

Alex didn't even want to think about Kari anymore. Alex knew that she wasn't going to be a problem that much longer. It was time to force Justin's hand.

"I need your help," Alex said.

"What is it?" Justin asked.

"See, the notes for my school project are in this bright orange notebook that somehow got lodged under the fridge," Alex explained. When Justin looked toward's the Russo family kitchen, she shook her head. "The one downstairs."

"Once Kari leaves, I'll get it for you," Justin said.

"And I need one more favor," Alex said as she batted her eyebrows. "The kid who wrote it had used shorthand and I need help to decide what it means."

"Yes, Alex," Justin grumbled. "Anything else?"

Alex smiled and gave Justin a quick hug. She knew that everything was going to start changing. Justin was going to start helping Alex and he was going to begin accepting his feelings for her. Once Kari left, Alex grabbed Justin by the hand and pulled him towards the staircase to the substation. Justin immediately retracted his hand from Alex and stepped in front of her so he could walk down the stairs first. Alex had to keep reminding herself that it was going to take awhile for him to accept his feelings.

When the two walked into the substation kitchen, Justin bent down to try to see the notebook underneath the refrigerator. Alex was surprised how much she was enjoying being in a room alone with Justin. She knew it wasn't like the two were on a romantic date or something. It was just that Alex was so desperate to spend time with her brother. He kept shutting her out and avoiding her. Alex needed him in her life and she was tired of him giving her the cold shoulder.

Alex watched Justin as he reached his arm underneath the refrigerator and pulled the orange notebook out. He stood up and handed the dusty book to Alex. He used his hands to wipe off the dust of his pants.

"How did it get under there?" Justin asked.

"Oh, I kicked it and it somehow slid under the fridge," Alex said nonchalantly.

"Why would you do that?" he questioned.

"It frustrated me," she explained.

She handed the notebook back to him and urged him with his eyes to look at it. While Justin opened the book, Alex pulled the headband off the band of her jeans. The headband was bigger than usuals bands and covered with a cloth-like fabric. When Alex turned it over, she didn't see anything that could resemble a password. The only thing she saw was the serial code of the headband underneath. Alex sighed and placed the headband in one of the cabinets under the sink. She was done trying to decode things from Kari. It was Justin's turn to start doing all the work.

"What subject is this for?" Justin asked as he scratched his head.

"Chemistry," she lied. "Let's go with that."

Justin stared at for a second.

"You don't take chemistry," he notified her.

"Then, why did the cute boy take notes for me?" Alex countered.

"This is obviously a girls' handwriting."

"Well, he used to be a girl!"

"That doesn't make any sense."

"What's up with all the questions? Can you read it or not?"

Justin sighed and shut the book closed.

"I'll look at this over the weekend," he said.

"Yeah, you do that," Alex said.

As Justin walked away, Alex smiled to herself. This was the first time Justin and Alex had a conversation in the last few weeks. She felt like everything was normal. They bickered like usual and Justin gave in just like he was expected to. Alex could see that everything was about to turn around. She could finally take a deep breath and let everything out. She wouldn't have to stress her pretty little head over the details of Gigi's plot. It was Justin's time to worry. It was time to spend the weekend with the thing she loved the most - reality television.


End file.
